Hanson man has a ferocious will to live’

A few months ago, when Ellen Galambos thought about Thanksgiving, she could not help but picture her father’s chair, empty at the table.

“That image kind of haunted me, just that empty space without him,” she said this week.

But today, Galambos is grateful that her father is with his family on Thanksgiving.

“This year I’m so thankful for my father and his ferocious will to live,” she said. “He will always be my hero.”

In July, Alex Galambos, 79, suffered pneumonia and a few weeks later a stroke. His condition was so grave that Ellen and her sister, Andi Ellis of Marshfield, began preparing for the worst, even discussing funeral arrangements.

“I had already come to terms with the fact that we would not have him with us for the holidays and I tend to be a very optimistic person, so for me to think that way was unbelievable,” Ellen Galambos said.

But in September, Alex, who is known to family and friends as Al, began walking again at the New England Sinai Rehab Center in Stoughton and his health slowly improved.

He was released to go home to Hanson, where he lives with his wife, Carolyn, who just celebrated her 73rd birthday.

Over the last two months, with regular visits from friends and family — including his young granddaughters, Juliana and Celia Borghesani — Alex’s health has continued to improve, and he is eager to celebrate the holidays.

“I’m so fortunate to have a wife and two daughters and granddaughters who love me and care enough to come and visit,” he said.

Alex Galambos is the last of his 11 siblings, born to parents who immigrated to America from Hungary.

Ellen Galambos said she remembers her father working three jobs to support his family.

“I’m so thankful for him because he’s a very selfless man who came from very poor Hungarian immigrants. He was driven to better himself,” she said.

This year, Ellis will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner in Marshfield.

“We have family and friends come from all over and we’ve really grown into an extended family, and they all love my father,” she said.

Juliana, 12, and Celia, 10, said they could not imagine Thanksgiving without their grandfather, whom they visit every Monday for dinner.

“When he was in the hospital, I didn’t think he was going to last. But he’s alive, and I’ll get to spend the holidays with him and talk with him. That’s what I’m most thankful for,” Juliana said.

“He makes the best macaroni and cheese. He makes warm fires, and we sit and talk. I really look forward to that,” Celia said.

As Christmas approaches, Alex admits he will not be able to build his traditional train and Christmas village display in his basement, which has attracted visitors for years.

He will not be seen wearing his Santa suit and waving to passers-by outside Shaw’s in Hanson, which he has also done for years.

But there is one thing Alex is determined to do: reach age 82.

“I’m one of a dozen children and the last one left,” he said. “ The eldest was 82. If I reach 82, I’ll have beat them all.”

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